Divorce | Dissolution of Marriage | Legal Separation

California Divorce (Dissolution Of Marriage)

Divorce and Legal Separation

No matter how you got to this point of reading this page, one thing for sure is that you have had a great deal of emotional pain. This is always a tough decision, and one that will impact you and your family for the rest of your life. I am sorry that you are at a point in your life where you are having to read this sort of stuff. My goal is to serve you well, and help you through what will be a tough period in your life. California has process that must be followed in order to get a Judgment of Dissolution or Judgment of Legal Separation. Both of them will involve disclosing all of your assets and debts, income and living expenses, setting up a parenting schedule and custody, determining temporary and permanent child support; temporary and permanent spousal support, dividing assets and awarding debts. As might be expected there can be nuanced and sophisticated elements to each of those. It is critical for most people to get knowledgeable advice in all of these areas in trying to get a resolution in these areas.

Three Divorce Scenarios:

A divorce case in California begins when the "Petitioner" files a Petition in the Superior Court for dissolution of the marriage asking the court to dissolve the marriage and to deal with any issues between the parties arising out of the marital relationship such as child custody, child support, spousal support, property division, debt division, payment of attorney fees and court costs, etc. How the case is subsequently handled depends on whether the other party, the "Respondent”:

1) fails to file a Response to the Petition or,

2) cooperates to settle the case by way of agreement or,

3) files a Response and contests the issues in the case.

Click here to find out more about the three divorce scenarios

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Procedural Overview For Default Or Uncontested Divorces:

If your divorce is either uncontested or default matter, the following 12 steps must be taken to obtain your California divorce.

Click Here to find out more on the ProceduralOveriew for Default or Uncontested Divorces

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Additional/Alternate Steps In Contested Cases:

If your case is contested by the other party, depending on the issues involved and the complexity of the case, the following additional steps may need to be taken:

Click Here to find out more about Additional/Alternate Steps in Contested Cases.

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Divorce | Dissolution of Marriage | Separtion Forms and their Descriptions:

Click here to view the forms